LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A Black civil rights activist who was reportedly assaulted by a group of white men in southern Indiana has criticized officials for what he said was a slow response.
"There's been too much feet dragging," said Vauhxx Booker, a Bloomington, Indiana, civil rights activist and member of the Monroe County Human Rights Commission.
Booker has said that white men pinned him against a tree and shouted racial slurs at him, and that one of them threatened to "get a noose" at Monroe Lake near Bloomington over the Fourth of July weekend. A Facebook post with a video of the incident has gone viral.
No arrests have been made. The FBI is investigating the incident as a potential hate crime.
Vauhxx and his attorneys held a news conference Friday, two days after Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb defended the state's Department of Natural Resources amid criticism that the agency's conservation officers did not adequately respond to the incident.
Booker's attorneys in a news release Friday called on the U.S. Attorney's office for the Southern District of Indiana to convene a grand jury to end "the shameful postponements," according to a story by Fox59.
"It's been a week since Vauhxx Booker was pinned against a tree and threatened to be hung from a noose and lynched, yet there … are no arrests. There is a systematic delay in justice for Black people across our nation," the attorneys said.
Booker said that because of the legal system's slow response, he feels as though the assault is continuing.
"Justice can be delayed, but it can't be denied," he said.
Booker also said that failure to bring charges against the alleged attackers would send a signal that people can continue to perpetrate hate crimes.
"These individuals would have never targeted me if they thought they'd be held accountable," he said. "The people who are victimized shouldn't be the ones who are afraid."
The Associated Press contributed to this report. Copyright 2020 WDRB Media and Fox59. All Rights Reserved.
